Schools likely to get panic buttons, inside-locking doors

St. Charles Community Unit District 303 schools are likely to undergo security enhancements this summer, changes that will include panic buttons intended to alert police to intruders.

Even before the fatal mass-shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn. last December, District 303 officials had begun examining ways to beef up security at the district's 17 schools, said John Baird, assistant superintendent for operations. After the tragedy, administrators also solicited suggestions from teachers and other staff, leading to a list of about $304,000 in proposed improvements.

Recently, a school board committee signed off on the work. Final approval is expected at an upcoming meeting on May 13.

The bulk of the money will go to replacing locks on 630 classroom doors throughout the district. Most doors only lock from the outside, meaning a teacher would have to enter the hallway during a lock-down situation to lock the door, Baird said.

Changing the doors so they lock from the inside of the classroom was the No. 1 suggestion from teachers, according to Superintendent Donald Schlomann.

Other work includes installing two panic buttons in elementary and middle schools, and three panic buttons in the two high schools. Just like a fire alarm alerts the fire department, the panic buttons would alert police to respond to the school, Baird said.

"Any time you can buy time—seconds—is good," he said. Administrators will decide where to place the panic buttons in each school, Schlomann said, though they're likely to go in centralized locations.

Panic buttons aren't uncommon in public buildings. The City of St. Charles has two in its Municipal Building, Baird said, and the Elgin City Council earlier this year approved adding them to its council chambers.

Other work includes installing more security cameras at the high schools to cover so-called "dead zones," as well as a new system allowing all phones in schools to have an intercom function.

While funds for the work would have to be carved out of other capital projects in the budget, officials said, administrators were able to lower the price from an original estimate of more than $350,000.

Parts of those savings come because district maintenance staff can install the new classroom door locks, Baird said.